August 14 marked the 23rd anniversary of the death of Enzo Ferrari. The man who founded Ferrari was, according to some, a difficult man to deal with, as ingenious people usually tend to be. But no one ever questioned his passion about racing and his dedication to the company he founded in 1947. His life was long and complicated –so we’ll just write a few words for the man who founded the company that built some of the finest supercars the world has ever seen.
Born in 1898, Enzo Ferrari initially worked for CMN (Construzioni Meccaniche Nazionali) redesigning truck bodies into passenger cars. He entered racing with CMN in 1919, but with no success. He left in 1920 to work at Alfa Romeo, eventually establishing its racing division, which he named Scuderia Ferrari, signing famous drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari.
However, Alfa Romeo withdrew from races in 1933 due to economic problems, only to return in 1937 and reduce Enzo’s role in the racing department. His departure was inevitable, but since a clause in his contract didn’t allow him to race for four years, he found a loophole by founding Auto-Avio Costruzioni and supplying parts to other teams.
After World War II, he relocated his company from Modena to Maranello, where it remains to this day, and in 1947 founded Ferrari S.p.A. He manufactured road cars, starting with the V12 125S, but only to gain funds to race again. This happened one year later and in 1950, he entered the first ever Formula 1 world championship, in which the Scuderia still competes. But his activities weren’t restricted in F1, as Ferrari also raced in Le Mans and the Mille Miglia with remarkable success.
Enzo Ferrari became known as “il Commendatore” and hired some of the best drivers of all time who he famously encouraged to fiercely compete against each other – often with dire consequences.
Financial problems forced him in the 1960s to sell a part of his company. Ford nearly closed the deal, but Enzo withdrew and eventually sold some shares to Fiat, which bought 50% of his company in 1969.
The iconic F40’s development was the last Ferrari model Enzo oversaw. In August 14, 1988, he passed away. That year, McLaren Honda’s MP4/4s won all F1 races bar one. It was the Italian Grand Prix held at Monza on September 11, where Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto crossed the finish line in their F1/87/88Cs in first and second place respectively. Fittingly, it was the first race held after il Commendatore’s death.
In 2002 Ferrari launched its top supercar which it named Enzo to honor the company’s founder and next year a movie was made about his life.
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